In an attempt to move towards “human-centered AI”, Microsoft has just unveiled a new AI assistant.
Coined Mico, the assistant promises to be “expressive, customisable and warm” thanks to its friendly-looking, blob-shaped avatar that’s almost reminiscent of a certain paperclip shaped tool that was canned back in 2007.
This might sound seriously confusing, but we’re here to help. We explain everything you need to know about Microsoft Copilot’s new assistant, Mico, including how you can try it for yourself.
What is Copilot Mico?
Mico is an AI-powered virtual assistant found within Copilot that promises to make conversing with the AI tool feel more conversational and natural than ever before.
Mico is designed to be more than just a chatbot, thanks to its cute blob character that lives in your computer. This visual presence, Microsoft explains, appears to actively listen, react and even change colour to reflect your interactions, which should make “voice conversations feel more natural.”
However cute this may appear, if even just the idea of interacting with a character feels ridiculous, then you do have the option to stick with the Copilot chatbot instead.
Microsoft also says that Mico can “show support” to users through its animation and expressions, offering a more friendly and engaging experience. Plus, it remembers past interactions and adapts to your preferences over time, acting like a sidekick who caters to you.
How to access Copilot Mico
At the time of writing, Copilot Mico is only available in the US, however it is expected to roll out to more countries, including the UK, in the coming weeks.
What was Clippy?
Unbelievably, it’s been nearly thirty years since Microsoft introduced Clippy within the Office suite and nearly 18 years since it was discontinued. For those not quite old enough to remember, Clippy was a paperclip-shaped avatar that lived within Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Powerpoint and Excel.
The purpose of Clippy was similar to that of Mico, where it was designed to provide users tips and advice on whatever they were working on at the time. However, many complained that Clippy wasn’t actually particularly useful and the avatar was eventually removed with Office 2007.
